Order of the ?
by MantaCat
Summary: AU, non-cannon, my first fic. Focus on Naruto characters. Centuries after the age of ninja have come and passed, a strange creature calling itself "Naruto" walks the earth. Where/when is he from, and what has drawn him to Hogwarts and the warring world of wizards? A girl by the name of Sakura befriends a certain brown-haired witch. Will unfold slowly (I think).
1. Prologue: The Girl Who Lived

**Aekatherine: umm... er... h-hi!**

**This is my first attempt at a fan-fic, so please go easy on me... I have not read the Naruto manga, and this fic takes liberties in reguards to abilities, etc. although I will try to be true to the characters. The fic is labled "fantasy" since even in the Naruto/HP universes this is a somewhat crazy idea I've been playing with...**

**If I contradict the anime, please feel free to let me know, and tell me if you can what episode(s) to check, but please don't tell me anything that has been uncovered in the manga but not yet in the anime, since I don't want spoilers. Although if you like the story but hate that I haven't read the manga you can rant to me (kindly, please) about how I am missing out. **

**For facts such as birthdays, chakra colours, favorite _, I reference Narutopedia, and would like to give credit to the wonderful people who have compiled that information.**

**Disclaimer (here I go... first disclaimer I have ever written!)**

**IdontowneitherNarutoorHarryP otter-!**

**...pant, pant, whew... I did it...**

The newborn did not so much as stir in the exhausted young mother's arms as her young husband, the doctor, and several nurses watched despondently the child's first and last moments. The young couple desperately desired a few moments alone with the infant - a few moments peace - but the raspy and uneaven cadence of the child's breath testified to her fading life and the staff wanted an accurate record for time of death. Everyone was silent; the young parents preparing for the inevitable as the huddled around their first child, and the medics clutching their wands tighly to their chests or loosely to their sides in accordence with their experience.

It was in this stillness that the window burst open; flooding the room with the coold winds of early spring. For a moment the few stars were all that could be seen outside the ever-lit hospital ward, and then the view was obscured. A young man crouched on the sill of the window for a brief moment before launching himself across the room to the yong mother's bed. In his wake floated loose orange feathers flashing shades of red and yellow to match the flames on his bright robe and his unrooly hair. He leaned his face over the infant child, and the young woman got a close look at his tanned skin on his face, which would have looked smooth if not for what appeared to be thin scars from some kind of animal's claws. After the sterile smell of the hospital, the soft sent of the newborn in her arms and the wet cold smell of spring from the window, the new mother would later remember how the blond had caried with him the smell of summer - of someone who had just come in from bathing in the sunlight and whose warmth had yet to leave him.

While the young mother was watching the face a mere handful of centimenters from her own in shock, her husband and the medics in the room had all turned their wands towards the strange intruder. A warning was shouted, but the young man - he must have been in his early twenties - did not so much as blink. His attention was on the baby. With a shock, the young mother realized there were tears in his eyes. His eyes watered more and more, as if some kind of sadness was building in him, and the water reflected and amplified the stunning blue pigment of his irises. Then, in a vioce so quiet she should have never heard it, he whispered:

"Sakura-chan..." and a single tear fell onto her daughter's forehead. The instant the clear droplet connected the child was engulfed by what appeared to be white flames, but the mother cradling her felt no heat; no pain. She heard, distantly, several spells being fired off, but the man never reacted. As the etheral light began to fade, a smile ghosted his lips, and as quickly as he had appeared, he was gone.

After what seemed like a very long moment the door burst open and several doctors rushed in, wands raised. As their eyes shifted and searched for the danger, a sudden wail pierced the air and those who had been in the room the entire time seemed to emerge from their shock as if from molasis. An auror arrived, and as the window was shut, feathers collected, and general investigation began, the young woman turned to the crying child. Her husband, noticing this, moved closer to his wife, drawing the attention of their initial doctor.

The three watched the child in for a long moment, and then the doctor began waving his wond above the child. "I can't believe it..." he mumbled, "I can't believe my eyes..."

"What? What is it?" The young husband turned towards the medic, worry riddling his eyes.

"The child, she's... she's-"

"She's cured," the new mother finished.

The tree sat, watching the child balling with the viggor only a very healthy newborn could muster.

"Sakura..." the woman muttered.

"What?" her spouce asked.

"Her name. I'm calling her Sakura..."

"But dear, we already agreed on Patrunia. It's on the birth certificate and everything... I've never even heard 'Sakura' before, I'm not sure its even a word, let alone a name..."

"He called her Sakura... Sakura something. I'm sure of it. He saved my baby's life..."

With a resigned huff the young father agreed and the doctor turned to find the documents to change the child's name. While they couple waited, the woman turned and coo-ed the new name to her daughter. As if in recognition of the title, the child stopped crying and opened soft green eyes before yawning and sighing into sleep. In the temporary silence that fell over the parents, snatches and pieces of what the Aurors and doctors were saying drifted through. "No human magic..." one voice said, "Pheonix feathers... no doubt..." "Said he cried on the poor thing... burst into flames..." two others were saying, "Impossible...". But the couple's bliss at having their doughter safe and alive in their arms was all that mattered at the moment, and soon the doctor returned with the paperwork and their attention shifted elswhere. Later they would be debriefed and ask for explanations, but for now that could wait.


	2. Chapter 1: Muggles

**Um.. uh.. My First Full Chapter! Thank you for reading! v(_ _)v**

**I don't expect to update so often, but for now I was hoping to get what I have out before classes start again. Things will also go slower once I start writing about what's happening in Hogwarts, since I need to hunt for the books. **

**Similarly to how I've referenced Narutopedia, I have also gone to Harry Potter Wiki to look for some information. I wish I could say I knew everything about these two masterpieces, but in lieu of genius there is internet, and I would like to give credit where its due.**

**On that note: I do not own Naruto or Harry Potter!**

**(I think I'm getting the hang of this!)**

Chapter 1: Muggles

Sakura Springfield waved at her mother as she gripped the door handle for support; tugging at the heel of her shoe. With a final cheerful "See-ya!" she was gone. Her shoes tapped lightly on the pavement as she trotted down the street towards the park where she knew the other kids would be playing. Since the park was limited to the neighborhood and small primary school building, her parents let her go alone. That's what made this park so much fun. She might have gone here every day over the summer, but that there were no parents added an extra thrill the children couldn't get elsewhere.

Today would be a particularly special one, since some of the other families had gone on a group trip, taking their kids with them, and according to her mom, they should be back today. With any luck, they will have gone to the playground. As Sakura rounded the final bend the playground came into sight, and on it, classmates she hadn't seen since the summer began.

As she approached, she noted off-handedly that the boys were playing on the hill separate from the girls. It seemed a little odd to her, since they had all played together during the school year, but for now she brushed the observation to the side. She was a young nine, having a spring birthday, and as a child had no means of recognizing that the developmental differences between boys and girls was beginning to set in with her slightly older class-mates. For the girls were entering the point in their lives where they begin to test their pecking order, and not seeing Sakura Springfield for a goodly month, in kid terms, was a long enough time to through her from the loop.

Things started off well; Sakura went and joined the other girls to exchange gossip and hear stories, which her friends were more than glad to give, but things took an unpleasant turn in the middle of one particular tale. One girl was describing a party her parents had dragged her to, when she suddenly remembered:

"Oh! and there was this lady with white hair, and when I told her I had a friend, you," she pointed to Sakura, "with weird hair to, and that yours was pink, she said you must use a potion to dye it!"

"Do not," Sakura replied in a huff.

"Do to! She said no one has naturally pink hair, and if you do, its 'cause you either dye it or someone messed up a spell on you!" This set the other girls off, as they to contributed what they had overheard at the party as well. Soon the ruckus they were causing was enough to distract the boys, and they to came over to see what was so fun. From there the situation escalated until Sakura found herself crying wetly and quite regretting her decision to visit the park. With a great deal of courage, she ran at two of the smaller boys, causing them to leap to the side, and burst from the leering circle.

She had been planning on running straight home, but the others started to follow after, telling her just how much of a coward she would be to tattle, and so she changed direction to go down a different block. The small lead she had gained pushing from the crowd was quickly fading, and all the distressed girl could think was _I wish I could run faster. I wish I could get away. I want to run, and run, and run and never stop until I'm so far away no one can find me! _and soon her pace picked up, her legs took on an extra spring, and glancing back Sakura realized she was outpacing her tormenters. With a wild grin she turned forward and pushed herself to go even faster.

She was flying, or at least that's what it felt like, running through the neighborhood with her long pink hair streaming behind. Soon though she was out of the housing area and the buildings she passed were looking less and less familiar. Thinking it would be a good time to sit and clam down before heading home, Sakura tried to slow. A problem soon became apparent however, as, after several failed attempts at slowing or stopping, she realized she was still accelerating. Buildings and trees started to blur together, and Sakura began to fear what would happen should she run into anything.

With a jolt of panic, she realized that the sky was turning a bright orange, then a light purple. After what seemed like ages, and guessing from the sky what had most likely been several hours, her pace began to drop and she could feel a dull ache in her legs. A few moments later she was able to stop and look around. It only took her a moment to realize she was in a muggle city. She'd never been in a muggle area before, and was quite frightened. Picking the direction she believed herself to have come from she started to walk, ignoring the strange looks an occasional kind or creepy questions posed by the muggles walking by.

Trying to think clearly, Sakura knew she must have used accidental magic. She'd used it before, her first incident being when she was six, but her parents always told her she had unusually good control. The sky wasn't light anymore, and the electric city lights unnerved her. Her legs simultaneously felt like jello and lead. So when Sakura saw a rundown play structure on cracked and bulging asphalt, she hurried quickly over and sank gratefully onto one of the swings. It was only after she was settled that she noticed the boy sitting in the swing next to hers.

When he saw she'd noticed him he gave a large, dorky grin and and asked excitedly, "Wanna play with me?" to which Sakura stared dumbly for a moment. He was blond, about her age, and didn't have any parents with him that she could see. He had on an orange tee-shirt and dark shorts. Despite the dark setting, she could see him clearly. Looking down she answered:

"Not really. I'm tired, hungry, and I wanna go home!" _And I don't need some dirty muggle boy to talk to me,_ she added silently.

"So why don't you?"

"Because I'm lost! Idiot! Why else would I be here and not there!?" Her temper finally snapped and as soon as she'd finished yelling at the boy she broke down in tears for the second time that day. The boy seemed to think for a minute, then asked,

"Want me to help you find a policeman? They can help find your parents."

"No they can't," Sakura sniffled, defeated, as tears continued to roll down her cheeks, "I don't know how to get home, and no one here can help me."

"So whachya goin' to do then?"

"I don't know! That's why I'm sitting here!" There was a silence, broken only by the distant sounds of city and Sakura's shaky, congested breathing, then:

"It's late, so your parents are probably looking for you. Maybe if we stay here they'll find you." Sakura gave an indignant sniff.

"Even so, it'll take forever for them to even think of looking here, wherever _here_ is," she was looking down at her feet again, at the sound of clanking chains and the thud of the boy landing her gaze shifted up. he ran in front of her, arms spread wide, an excited look on his face, and said with more energy than he ought;

"That's why you should play with me! If all you're doing is waiting, it'll be fun, and things'll go by faster! And-" the boy continued on listing reasons until Sakura gave a faint smile and slid from her swing. Her legs were to worn out for her to want to run around, but the boy didn't seem to mind. Naruto, for that's what he called himself, talked a lot, then listened as she complained about the girls who teased her and the boys who went along. He was a surprisingly good listener for someone with such a loud voice and so much energy.

It was while she was sharing one of her stories when she heard her name shouted from a distance. At the corner was her mom, and without a backwards glance, Sakura ran towards her. Her mother looked past her for a moment, towards the boy, and had Sakura been paying attention she would have seen her mom stiffen for a moment as she met bright blue eyes that sparkled knowingly. She would have seen recognition flash in her mother's eyes, and the shock as the familiar face and familiar smile waved, but then Sakura was tugging at her hem and thoughts of the glowing boy fled. Turning to her daughter she huffed;

"I knew I couldn't trust those idiots from the AMRS! Took them hours after detecting underaged magic among muggles to even send out the clean-up crew. Told me they'd follow the trail, did they, and that you'd be at the end of it. What sort of child sits still in a strange place among strange people without moving, hm!?" Through the tirade Sakura sobbed into her mother's dress. When Mrs. Springfield looked back up, she wasn't surprised to see that the boy had vanished. Somehow, she had expected it.

She kneeled down to scoop up her daughter, and checking that there were no muggles in the vicinity, apparated home. Sometimes, she reflected, she would see flashes of orange or yellow in the market, through the trees. She wasn't sure why, but she was grateful none-the-less. She had never been able to completely shake the fear brought on by you-know-who, and knowing her baby had someone, or something, looking after her was strangely comforting.


End file.
